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Personally, I loved staying at Erin, the whole experience was incredible. If I'd do it again, I'd stay at Erin for 1-2 nights, play Straits 1x and play/stay both Sand Valley courses...

We're still VERY early for planning for 2019 so we don't have a time of year to go yet but a few ideas:
1) Streamsong - best in October - April?
2) Kiawah
3) Sea Island - better with families? also hard to get 12 guys onto some of the private clubs...
4) Cabot - flight + 3 hour drive seems to be a schlep...
5) Greenbrier - hard to get to from NY?

You mentioned quality of the golfers isn't good enough for Bandon. If you're referring to skill, that shouldn't be a big factor. If your group can handle Pinehurst or Kohler, you can handle Bandon. The courses aren't going to kill you, if you can break 100 at one place you'll do it at Bandon. What is important is you must love golf. The whole place is focused on golf and there isn't really much else to do, so you better like it. (I'm assuming you do if you've done those other trips and are on this site)

I made a trip there in 2015 and played in horrible weather on Pacific Dunes with three guys who were all 70 or older, walking and pushing their own carts. They probably didn't break 90, but they had a great time, and walked the whole round. Just gotta love the game. I hope I'm doing the same at their age.

Add a couple suggestions:
Northern Michigan (Arcadia Bluffs x 2 and Forest Dunes x 3 ish and others) - easy flights to Detroit and then a bit of a drive.
Reynolds Plantation - easy flights to Atlanta and offers up resort stuff if you need to bring WAGs and kids

Assuming a summer trip, I'd look at Prince Edward Island, Canada. I'm hoping to go there myself next year if airfare isn't too expensive. Lots of good golf on the island and quite affordable.

A second option is to fly into Minneapolis, head 40 minutes east and play Troy Burne in Hudson, WI, one of the top public courses in the Twin Cities area. Stay in a nearby hotel for cheap and then make an easy three hour drive to Sand Valley the next day.

If you have time for a round before your flight back you have StoneRidge on your way, a very good links-style course that is east of St. Paul.

If you're looking for cheap, with 12 guys you can get a really good deal on a rental house in the Orlando area with a pool and a hot tub. The courses aren't the greatest but it's a lot of fun hanging out at the house playing cards and drinking/swimming/hot tub. Orlando is one of the few places they overbuilt with huge newer houses in what have basically become VRBO neighborhoods. Assuming some guys are ok sleeping on couches, it can be really cheap per person, plus your food costs will be low since you'll be grilling/eating in at the house.

I saw you say that Oregon is tough but iíll throw Bend, OR out there as well.

Bend, OR

You have a TON of lodging and stay and play options or could just VRBO. You could stay in the houses at Tetherow, $500 a night but 4 bedrooms plus an office with a pullout couch that sleeps 6 comfortably along with a full kitchen and hot tub add that to a 24 hr shuttle and the MANY brew pubs are not a problem. Golf wise you have everything from Tetherow to a goat track 9 hole course and everything in between just figure out an idea on what to spend.

Donít wanna play 36? Go sign up for a float trip, grab a bunch of beer, plop down in intertubes and float the Deschutes river.

Reynolds as mentioned is a good spot. However, depending on when you go, Great Waters is undergoing a major renovation and could be closed. But if you aim for a fall weekend, you could fly into Atlanta on a Friday morning, get in an afternoon round on Friday, 36 Saturday, 18 Sunday and fly out that evening. Plus the weather out there is amazing in the fall and you could always ditch the second 18 on Saturday and drive up to Athens for a UGA game or just visit up that way.

Just note that Reynolds is on the opposite side of Atlanta (towards Augusta) than Birmingham. I know it was mentioned above as stopping in between on an RTJ trip, but while you could do it, it's an hour and a half east of Atlanta on I-20, not west.

Reynolds as mentioned is a good spot. However, depending on when you go, Great Waters is undergoing a major renovation and could be closed. But if you aim for a fall weekend, you could fly into Atlanta on a Friday morning, get in an afternoon round on Friday, 36 Saturday, 18 Sunday and fly out that evening. Plus the weather out there is amazing in the fall and you could always ditch the second 18 on Saturday and drive up to Athens for a UGA game or just visit up that way.

Just note that Reynolds is on the opposite side of Atlanta (towards Augusta) than Birmingham. I know it was mentioned above as stopping in between on an RTJ trip, but while you could do it, it's an hour and a half east of Atlanta on I-20, not west.

Thanks Maga...I drove from Augusta to B'ham and forgot which side of ATL it was on.

Doesnt Bandon have 5 or 6 courses? Which is the best to play? Sorry to Hijack a smidge. Id love to rally some friends for a golf trip. I heard Bethpage is amazing all the time, im sure being a NY guy, you have been there...

Northern Michigan is a great option as someone else mentioned. Little hard to get to if you have to fly and the courses are a bit spread out so it means there will be a bit of car time. But the golf is great, the courses are outstanding, the weather in the summer is awesome and for the quality of courses its a great value.

Scottsdale is an easy trip from NY. You would have to do it early in 2019 though. Feb-March is the peak season and golf gets extremely pricey then. April is less busy, courses are in perfect shape and the city in general is less busy as Spring Training is over. You can also get there on a direct flight so travel is easy. 2 courses at Troon North and 2 courses at WeKoPa make for a special trip.

I did Kiawah last year. The Ocean Course is special but the other Kiawah courses fell a little flat for me. They were all solid, but, certainly overpriced for what they are. I absolutely love The Ocean Course though (have played it a couple times now) so I really didn't care that the other courses fell flat for me. We stayed in Charleston and made the drive each morning. I was glad we stayed in Charleston as we like great food and wanted to hang around Charleston while not golfing. Kiawah Island is a little isolated for my taste. I did the trip with my father and neither of us are drinkers on the golf course so the drive wasn't an issue for us. If you guys are a drinking crew, staying on the island is probably a better plan.

Doesnt Bandon have 5 or 6 courses? Which is the best to play? Sorry to Hijack a smidge. Id love to rally some friends for a golf trip. I heard Bethpage is amazing all the time, im sure being a NY guy, you have been there...

4 full courses and 1 par 3 course. I think the opinions on which is the best to play will vary. All 4 of the courses are outstanding, offer something different from one another and all are worth playing. Bandon Dunes offers the best mix of a really good layout and very good views. Pacific Dunes is one of the prettiest golf courses I have ever played and provides a unique layout (albeit they layout itself is not as good as Bandon). Bandon Trails doesn't offer the views, is an inland course, and isn't really a pretty golf course. But IMO it offers the best pure golf layout out of the 4. Old Mcdonald is completely different from the other 3 as it's designed like a old school European links style course. There's only 1 tree on the course. It's a course where you keep it low and play the terrain.

Streamsong! Short trip from NE.. Buddy and I went in late April, and used one of their packages. 3 nights, and played all 3 courses, plus they have that short course, and putting course at the Black clubhouse. Want to say it was about $1200 before flight/spending. The rooms are VERY nice, and the food is great. There is a pool behind the lodge that is nice after a warm afternoon round, and many other outdoor activities should y’all choose to do anything other than golf. My friend and I much preferred Streamsong over Pinehurst, but they are very different experiences. I can’t wait to get back to SS next Spring.

I know you said you don't want to do Europe, but I would really suggest you reconsider. There are inexpensive flights from NY to Dublin. Norwegian air now has flights from Stewart Airport in Newburgh and there are other reasonable fares from Newark and JFK.

Stay in Dublin and you'll have all of the night life, and culture that that city has to offer and the golf and lodging will likely be less expensive than any of the US or Canadian destinations on your list. The green fees at the listed courses are a fraction of what you'll pay at the Greenbrier, Streamsong, Kiawah, Cabot etc. I'd suggest you choose from the following nine courses:

The only course at Kiawah that is as good as most of these Irish links is the Ocean Course, which is extremely expensive. Streamsong has three great courses, but they too are overpriced and in the middle of nowhere. The clubhouse there can't compare to the craic anywhere in Dublin. Cabot and the Greenbrier are harder to get to than Dublin and also more expensive and don't offer the variety of good golf courses (even though I love the Old White).